Cabinet type play pen



Jlme 5, 1951 R. H. ALSCHULER ET AL 2,555,776

CABINET TYPE PLAY PEN Filed Aug. 30, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l F In ventor E055 H ALSCHULEA PHIL/p 61 CURTIS;

Patented June 5, 1951 UNITED CABINET TYPE PLAY PEN Rose H. Alschuler, Washington, D. 0., and Philip 0. Curtis, Mount Rainier, Md.

Application August 30, 1945, Serial No. 613,588

2 Claims. i

This invention relates, broadly speaking, to convertible furniture, and has more particular reference to a play-pen for infants and small tots, especially one, which when not in use, may be folded and then housed in a concealed and outof-the-way position in a portable enclosing and protective cabinet.

More specifically, in carrying out our aims and the structural adaptations of same, we have evolved and produced a simple and expedient portable cabinet which lends itself for adequate use in a bedroom, living room, or wherever convenient and desirable. The play-pen, forming a part of said cabinet, is mounted partly in the cabinet and partly on a front panel of the latter. said panel being hingedly mounted and swingable down and out so that when the collapsible or foldable play-pen is set up for use, said panel then serves as a bottom or floor for said play-pen.

Due to the multiple purpose nature of the invention it may be visualized either as a rollable ornamental cabinet with a swing-panel constituting a mount for the pen, the pen folding into said cabinet. Or the invention may be, perhaps, interpreted, alternately, as a play-pen of a collapsible and foldable type, said play-pen being swingable into an out-of-the-way position within the. confines of a suitable container whether it be a cabinet or other type of housing.

Another phase of the invention has to do with the aforementioned cabinet with a built-in playpen, the structure being such that the fences, forming the three major sides of the enclosure, are susceptible of being detached from the supporting panel, whereby to then provide a cabinet without a pen.

Another aspect of the invention has to do with the aforementioned detachable fences on the cabinet panel, the panel and fences both being disconnectable from the cabinet, whereby to provide an open face cabinet for reception of a plurality of shelves, the shelves serving first for storage of toys and, later on, for stacking and storing books and the like.

More specifically stated, novelty is predicated upon a simple open-front relatively shallow Wooden or equivalent cabinet which is characterized by horizontal bottom and top walls, vertical end walls and a back wall, there being in addition, a front wall which may perhaps be best identified as a door or panel and this being hingedly attached at its lower end portion to the vertical Walls to thus provide a door closed storage compartment in the cabinet, said compartment serving to house a triple section play-pen with the sections folded to out-of-the-way positions.

Added novelty has to do with the stated multiple walled cabinet wherein a horizontal shelf is installed in the upper portion of the cabinet between the vertical side walls and beneath the top wall so as to define an upper auxiliary compartment for books and toys and a lower main compartment to store the play-pen fences or sections when the door or panel is closed.

A further object of the invention has to do with the use of fixtures on the outer surface of the upper portion of the panel, when the latter is closed, these serving as legs and having balls rollable therein whereby to provide convenient hand-grips when the panel is up and closed and convenient transporting rollers when the handle is down and assumes a horizontal position.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portable convertible cabinet-style play-pen constructed in accordance with the invention and showing how said play-pen (not seen here) folded to an outof-the-way position.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the same with the panel swung down to a horizontal position and the fences set up to provide the desired play-pen.

Figure 3 is a front view, that is, a view observing Figure 2 in a direction from right to left.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section on line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a central vertical sectional view on I the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary corner view, that is an enlarged top plan view of one corner of the play-pen.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 'Il of Figure 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevational view showing one of the features hereinafter described.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional and elevational view showing the hinged connection for one of the fences taken on the line 99 of Figure 5, with parts omitted for clearness of illustration.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the cabinet with play-pen and panel removed and extra 3 shelves fitted in place and providing a book cabinet.

Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference characters, as before implied, it is in keeping with our ideas to visualize this structure as having to do with an ornamental room cabinet as well as a novel container for a playpen; or, it may be construed, primarily, as a playpen which is foldable into a cabinet preferably one which is ornamented to provide the secondary function of a piece of furniture. The cabi net may be considered, such as, with or without the panel. The main body of the cabinet is denoted by the reference character A; whereas, the play-pen (see Figure 2) is denoted by the reference character B. Actually, however, the play-pen B is part of the cabinet A'and vice versa. structurally the cabinet A is as shown in Figure l, a relatively shallow open-front type and is constructed of wood or equivalent material and is characterized by a horizontal bottom wall C,"a horizontal top'wall D, vertical end' walls E and F and a back wall G. The back wall is attached to the bottom and rises to and is con nected with the other several walls to form the stated open-front cabinet. The front wall, which is hereinafter referred to either as the door or panel, is denoted and differentiated from the fixed walls by the numeral [2. It is of rectangular form and of the approximate size shown in Figure 1 so that it may telescope and fit flush and with requisite nicety between the bottom and .vertical walls C, E and F. The lower edge portion of said panel is hingedly anchored tothe lower wall structure of the cabinet. More specifi- "or the like [5 mounted therein, whereby to provide convenient supporting feet, especially when the panel is down'to serve as the bottom of the play-pen as seen in Figure 2. The bottom wall of the cabinet is provided with suitable casters 16 which coact with the rollers 15.

Referring further to the cabinet construction, it will be seen that a permanent shelf I1 is fitted into grooves or'rabbets provided in the upper end portions of the vertical walls E and F. The shelf is spaced slightly downwardly from the top wall D and defines a relatively small or auxiliary compartment for storage of miscellaneous toys, books and other articles. The shelf also coordinates with the walls 0, E' and F in definin the main storage compartment I as best shown in Figures 4 and 5.

In actual practice the hinges H will be such that the entire panel I2 may be removed for construction of a bookcase as shown in Figure 10. In connection'with Figure 10, it might be pointed out that suitable additional shelves (not shown) may be furnished by the store at the time of the original purchase at said store and such shelves may be later installed as indicated at 19. Said shelves could be fitted into rabbets or grooves, or if preferred, any special brackets or fittings may be employed for mounting and assembling thereof.

Taking up for consideration now the so-called play-pen aspects of the structure'we would call attention to the fact that the play-pen proper is made up essentially of three fences denoted by the numerals 29, 2| and 22, respectively. However, the body portion of the cabinetalso constitutes and provides what may be called the fourth fence. Furthermore, the hingedly mounted front panel or wall of the cabinet provides the bottom or fioor of the play-pen. More specifically, the fence 2! has its lower rail connected by hinges [3 to the inner surface of the freely swingable end portion of the stated panel 12. Thus, this fence takes the vertical'position shown in full lines in Figure 4 when it is erected and takes the drop down or hanging position shown when folded, as seen in Figure 5. The left hand or inner end portions of the two fences 20 and 22, which may be conveniently referred to as the end fences, are hingedly mounted between upper and lower sets or pairs of U-shaped brackets 23 which are riveted to the inner surfaces of the vertical walls E and One pair of the U-brackets are seen for example in Figure 5, and a detail of the bracket construction is shown in Figure 9. In the latter figure, the fence 20 is at right angles to the wall F and the upper and lower rails are connected by hinge pins 25 to the arms of the U-brackets. As shown in Figure 2, the outer ends of the upper rails only of the fences 2d and 22 are provided with metal cleats or clips 25 screwed or otherwise fastened in place and the clips project beyond the ends of the rails and are apertured to accommodate insertable and removable rods or assembling pins 26. The upper ends of these rods have eyes 2'! for convenience of handling. It follows, therefore, that when the three'fences 20, 2| and 22 are setup they take the positions in relation to the cabinet and floor panel as shown in Figure 4. More specifically, the ends of the upper and lower rails of the front fence 2! abut the coactingfree or non-hinged ends of the upper and lower rails of fences 20 and 22 and the pins pass down through the apertures in the clips 25 and through holes provided in the end portions of the upper end lower rails of said fence 2|. When it is desired to fold the fences, the eye-equipped pins or rods 26 are obviously withdrawn thus renderin the three fences independent of one another. Thus disconnected the left hand fence 2?! in Figure 4 is swung in to the dotted line position shown in the cabinet.

Then the fence 22 is swung in so that the two fences 20 and 22 are in overlapping relation within the confines of the cabinet. Next, the front fence 2| is swung down on its hinges l3 against the panel. Then the panel is swung up from its horizontal to a vertical closing position so that it functions as a door and so that all three fences are then nicely racked and confined within the main compartment I.

Incidentally, the reference characters J in Figure 5 denote sockets or dowel pin holes which may be used to accommodate dowel pins (not shown) to take care of or support the aforementioned optionally usable shelves [9.

Although Figure 10 is utilized to show the convertible phase or feature wherein the shelves l9 are brought into play after the panel and fences have been dismantled, it is obviously no part of the claimed invention. The claims are directed to the multiple walled of open-front cabinet, the hingedly mounted door panel, the hinged fence 2| carried by the door panel and the, other hinged fences anchored in the cabinet as shown in the drawings.

In Figure 3 the numeral 28 designates a trapeze-like swing comprising a handle-bar 28 with flexible hangers 353.

In Figure 2 we show a plurality of chimes, tone gongs, bells or the like 3!, these being appropriately suspended and arranged in conven ient position for use by the occupant of the pen.

In Figure 8 we show a plurality of pins or appropriate ornaments 32 and these constitute another toy for the youngster. These elements 32 may be in the form of figure toys and may be individually or collectively spun in an obvious manner.

The numerals 33 designate horizontal vertically spaced rounds of rungs forming miniature climbing ladders for the youngsters.

Although we do not deem it necessary or es sential to delve into commercial aspects, the propriety of adoption and use of a structure of this type, or other factors which are essentially connected with marketing and manufacturing problems, it seems advisable to list a few of the outstanding advantages to wit:

As far as is known, there is no play-pen on the market at the present time which can be folded away in a cabinet and look presentable in a room when it is not in use.

When the child is through using the play-pen, the cabinet can be used to hold play materials or childrens books, or both.

The panels of horizontal bars 33 put in the corner are particularly designed to give children support in their first efforts to stand. They are educationally sound as the child will take them only if he is ready to use them.

Tone gongs 3| have been included because there is a very great need for young children to have materials that both stimulate and satisfy their need for hearing good musical tones.

The figurines 32 that have been put in one panel will appeal to children because they can turn them over and will have quite a good deal of fun doing so. They also meet the childs need to manipulate material at a time when their small coordination is just beginning to develop.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made from the invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. A cabinet-type play-pen of the class shown and described comprising an open-front cabinet embodying bottom, top, end and back walls, a front wall extending between said end walls and hinged adjacent one edge thereof to the lower front portions of said end walls to swing about 6 a horizontal axis and extend outwardly in a hori zontal plane and substantially parallel to said bottom wall and providing a play-pen. floor, a play-pen fence hingedly attached at its inner end to the inner surface of one of said end walls and extending outwardly and rising at right angles from said front 'wall, a second fence hingedly attached at its inner end to the inner surface of the remaining end wall and disposed in parallelism to said first-named fence and extending outwardly from the cabinet and rising vertically from said front wall, a third fence hingedly connected at its lower portion to the outer free swingable end portion of said front wall and having its opposite end portions abutting and detachably connected with the adjacent free end portions of said first and second fences respectively.

2. A cabinet-type play-pen of the class shown and described comprising a cabinet embodying bottom, top, end, and back walls, a front wall extending between said end Walls and hinged adjacent one edge thereof to the lower front portions of said end walls to swing about a horizontal axis and extend outwardly in a horizontal plane and substantially parallel to said bottom wall and providing a play-pen floor, a playpen fence hingedly attached at its inner end to the inner surface of one of said end walls and extending outwardly and rising at right angles from said front wall, a second fence hingedly attached at its inner end to the inner surface of the remaining end wall and disposed in parallelism to said first-named fence and extending outwardly from the cabinet and rising vertically from said front wall, a third fence hingedly connected at its lower portion to the outer free swingable end portion of said front wall and having its opposite end portions abutting and detachably connected with the adjacent free end portions of said first and second fences respectively, rollers attached to the under side of said bottom wall and serving to shiftably move the cabinet, and roller-equipped legs attached to the normally exterior surface of said front wall adjacent the freely swingable non-hinged end of said front wall, said legs having the additional function of hand-grips and serving to facilitate opening and closing the front wall.

ROSE H. ALSCHULER. PHILIP C. CURTIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 63,065 Maine Mar. 19, 1867 76,664 Shackelford et a1. Apr. 14, 1868 93,556 Robinson Aug. 10, 1869 197,122 Hale Nov. 13, 1877 445,672 Elsey Mar. 3, 1891 1,189,863 Oldendorf July 4, 1916 

